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Finally, a ray of hope for ’84 riot victim
Report finds shortcomings
in Uphaar
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Sikh bodies protest demolition at Gurdwara complex
Fatwa against culture of country: Naqvi
Demolish illegal constructions, SC orders Karnal hotel
CCS discusses policy to deal with terror
PMO denies changes in
Central Board recommendations
Former SC judge to head 6th Pay Commission
Panel for regulated reporting of criminal cases
No plans to withdraw support, says Ajit Singh
India to send 125 lady cops to Liberia
Pratyush Sinha is new CVC
Rs 350 cr for flood-hit Rajasthan
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Finally, a ray of hope for ’84 riot victim
New Delhi, September 2 The Delhi High Court has asked the state government, the Delhi police and the alleged occupants of the land why an FIR should not be registered. Issuing show-cause notices to the alleged occupants — Nawal Kishore, Manohar Kumar, Gulshan Kumar, Narender Kumar and Kishan Kumar, all sons of Kacheru Singh — Justice S.N. Aggarwal has directed the authorities to file a status report by the next hearing on January 30. Nirmal Singh had purchased two plots measuring 400 sq yrd and 20 sq yrd both forming part of Khasara No. 139, Seelampur village in Jain Basti, Dharampura, Gandhi Nagar, Delhi, in 1977. During the riots, that erupted following the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Nirmal Singh alleged that a mob with the guidance of local politicians set his houses, one of which was being used as a factory, on fire. Distressed Nirmal Singh left the Capital for Patiala to save his family and later shifted to Panipat, as they could not succeed in life there. He alleged that taking advantage of his absence from the place, his property was occupied — thus began the long battle to regain his land. Nirmal Singh first complained to the police to register an FIR on November 1, 1984, which fell on deaf ears. He made another effort to register the complaint on November 9 next year but to no avail. He alleged that the occupants of the land intimidated him and also beat him up. In 1986, he for the first time represented his case to the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the state government. As it did not produce any result, he continued to make representations to them and other authorities like the National Human Rights Commission and the President till the time he filed the petition in the High Court this year. He also made representations to the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and the All-India Riot Victims’ Relief Committee. Even personal meetings with the President, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister have not yielded desired results so far. Finally, his then neighbours, who are still present in the area, came to his rescue by giving a representation supporting that the land belonged to Nirmal Singh. The riot victim, who lost his wife for she could not bear the trauma of losing the land, now has just one mission in life — to get his land back.
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Report finds shortcomings
in Uphaar
New Delhi, September 2 Additional Sessions Judge Mamta Sehgal handed the copies of the report of inspection conducted on August 19, 2006 to the CBI, the Association of Victims of the Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) and the defendants. The report covers the sightings made by the court inside the complex and the general layout of the three-storey building, the basement and the transformer room during the court’s visit to the site, which had been preserved as “material evidence” for the past nine years. The inspection was conducted as per the orders of the Delhi High Court on September 12, 2003 to study the evidence. On the second-floor balcony of the theatre, where victims were asphyxiated to death by the smoke from the blaze, the court observed that “the space provided for exhaust fans on the walls was found blocked with the help of a cardboard”. Further, the report highlighted that the bolt of the exit door was found “half-detached”, which according to the AVUT members, contradicts the accused persons’ repeated contention during trial that there was no bolt on the door. The report pointed out that there was no way of passage on the extreme right-hand side of the balcony, as all seats on that side joined the wall. “My children were seated on the right end of the balcony. No passage here meant that they had to wedge their way to the middle and try escape through the exit door,” Shekhar Krishnamurthi, an AVUT member, said. “Worse still, the half-detached bolt on the exit door shows that the door was locked from outside and the victims had tried to push it open,” he added.
Regarding its inspection of the basement parking lot and transformer room, the court said a vehicle was parked only a few inches from the electricity panel room giving hardly any space for emergency
manoeuvres. In another contradiction to the accused’s arguments during trial, the court observed that air-conditioning ducts in the building were in a burnt condition. The case has been posted to September 4, 2006 for the hearing of the application of accused B.M. Satija, a former Delhi Fire Services official, to re-examine defence witness R.C. Upadhyay, former DVB worker. The final arguments in the case will be opened by former Solicitor General Harish Salve on September 28. Of the 16 accused originally named in the case, four have already died. The remaining 12, including the Ansal brothers, have been charged with offences under Sections 304 A and 33, IPC, and relevant provisions of the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
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Sikh bodies protest demolition at Gurdwara complex
New Delhi, September 2 In a joint news conference, DSGMC president Harvinder Singh Sarna and head of the Shiromani Akali Dal Delhi Paramjit Singh Sarna said the authorities had demolished the structures within the Gurdwara complex “illegally”. They claimed that the structures, meant for the gurdwara employees and visiting pilgrims, had been in existence for almost half a century, and repair works had been carried out from time to time. The Sarna brothers claimed that all structures within the complex formed part and parcel of the gurdwara and could not be demolished by the authorities. Equating the action of the DDA with that of Operation Bluestar, Paramjit Singh Sarna said the situation would have worsened had it not been for the timely intervention of the DSGMC, which asked the members of the community to exercise restraint and show their displeasure in a peaceful manner. He claimed that the authorities, despite repeated requests, did not show any document to justify the demolition. Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) president Avtar Singh Hit said the community would not tolerate any such action on their religious places. The demolition squad had to abandon the operation midway yesterday, as it met with fierce resistance from a large number of Sikhs who opposed the move and confronted the police personnel accompanying the squad. In the pitched battle between the two sides in which the police resorted to a mild canecharge and use of tear gas, six police personnel and a large number of Sikhs sustained minor injuries. The police later registered a case of rioting and arrested seven persons. A DDA spokesperson said a number of temples had also been demolished during the past few days, including the Manokamna Siddh Hanuman Mandir in Yamuna Bazar, and they were only acting on court directives of demolishing illegal structures.
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Fatwa against culture of country: Naqvi
New Delhi, September 2 “In my opinion, the clerics who regard Vande Mataram and its advocates as anti-Muslim are people of anti-national mindset,” Mr Naqvi, one of the prominent Muslim face of the Saffron party, said. The fatwa by handful of ‘fanatics’ was against the basic tenets of Islam and Fatwas by clerics of separatist mindset cannot weaken patriotism of crores of Muslims like me,” Mr Naqvi, who is the incharge of organising the recital of Vande Mataram throughout the country on September 7, the day the BJP Chief Rajnath Singh has asked members of party units to recite the national song in all public places and educational institutions in their respective states. The Islamic seminary has flayed Mr Naqvi for his remarks against Muslim clerics and advised Muslim parents not to send their children to schools enforcing the Vande Mataram directive on September 7. “The Indian administration is not governed by Shariat but by a secular Constitution,” the BJP Vice President said .
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Demolish illegal constructions, SC orders Karnal hotel
New Delhi, September 2 A Bench of Mr Justice G.P. Mathur, Mr Justice P.K. Balasubramanyan and Mr Justice Dalveer Bhandari dismissed the appeal of the hotel owners, challenging a judgement of the Punjab and Haryana High Court of 2003, refusing a permission to regularise it. The high court had held that the disputed portion in the hotel was raised in violation of the law on the land use plan alongside the national highway and the government notices to remove it were ignored by the hotel. The hotel owners were directed to themselves remove the constructions made on the entire disputed portion declared unauthorised by the government within six weeks, failing which the authorities were ordered to demolish the same within next 10 months to clear the encroachment. The government was directed to submit compliance report within 12 weeks. “Such violations cannot be compounded and the plea of the appellant was rightly rejected by the authorities and the high court,” the apex court observed. It rejected the contention of the hotel owners that they were not responsible for raising the constructions as the same were made by their predecessor the present ones were only their assignee. The apex court said: “It is a time that the message goes aboard and clear that those who defy the law would not be permitted to reap the benefit of their defiance of the law and it is the duty of the high courts to ensure that the violators are not rewarded.” Upholding the high court order as fully justified, the apex court also rejected the contention of the hotel owners that the disputed portion could be regularised with the area being included in Karnal Municipality subsequently. The court said such a contention was never put forward by the hotel owners and even if subsequently a Municipal Act had been extended to the area, the illegality and the violation of the Act could not be condoned. “No authority, whether highway or municipal, is entitled to reward a person indulging in such illegal activity,” the court said, directing the Haryana Government to submit a report on the compliance of its order after 12 weeks. The construction was put within the 50m from the highway and the hotel owners had claimed that when it was made, it was not “impermissible” and, therefore, it should be compounded. But the Haryana Government had contested their claim, stating that no construction was permitted beyond the 50 metre limit towards the highway from both sides under the Punjab Scheduled Road and Controlled Areas (Restriction of Unregulated Development) Act, 1963, and the construction made by the hotel owners was in clear defiance of law.
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CCS discusses policy to deal with terror
New Delhi, September 2 There was no word from the government on how close it was to announcing its policy to deal with terrorism. However, it is understood that the CCS, the country’s highest policy-making body on strategic and national security issues, discussed a wide gamut of issues. Reform of intelligence agencies came up for a deep-focus discussion. The nation’s security managers’ attention has been riveted on the functioning of intelligence agencies since the July 11 Mumbai train blasts. There was no prior information with the Indian intelligence agencies about the Mumbai blasts. Worse, more than 50 days have gone by since the blasts and still the intelligence agencies have failed to acquire any concrete evidence which can nail down Pakistan’s involvement in 7/11. It only demonstrates that the terrorists have gone a step ahead of the Indian security agencies and are no longer leaving their trail. It is a worrisome situation for the Indian security managers with huge security implications. During the meeting, a comprehensive review of internal security was undertaken. Special focus was laid on strengthening border road network, developing border areas and restoring manpower for the Border Road Organisation. The CCS meeting took place on the eve of Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s visit to France and Germany and approved the first-ever joint defence cooperation agreement between India and Germany that will be signed during Mr Mukherjee’s visit. The agreement will pave the way for German technology transfer to India and provide the framework for holding joint naval exercises and greater interaction between the armed forces of the two countries.
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PMO denies changes in
Central Board recommendations
New Delhi, September 2 In a letter to the Editor-in-Chief, the Prime Minister’s media advisor Sanjaya Baru said, “Please refer to a news report appearing in the Tribune dated August 31. The contents of the news report are not factually correct. Your correspondent seems to have been misled by some interested parties into filing a motivated report.” “I am happy to place on record that no changes have been made in the Prime Minister’s Office in any of the recommendations made by the Central Services Board for empanelment as Joint Secretaries and Additional Secretaries. “Further, no proposal for Chairman, HUDCO, has been received in the Prime Minister’s office as yet,” Dr Baru added.
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Former SC judge to head 6th Pay Commission
New Delhi, September 2 The commission will have three other members, apart from its chairperson, an official announcement said. The members are: IIM professor Ravindra Dholakia, former additional secretary budget and member secretary of Expenditure Reforms Commission J. S. Mathur and S. Nath, who will be the member secretaries of the pay panel. Justice
Srikrishna, a former judge of the Bombay High Court, had headed the inquiry commission that went into the Mumbai communal violence in 1993 in the aftermath of Babri Masjid demolition. The Union Cabinet had cleared the proposal for setting up the Sixth Pay Commission in July. The Cabinet decision to set up the commission came five months after the announcement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard. The Fifth Pay Commission was also headed by a former Supreme Court judge, Justice Ratnavel Pandian.
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Panel for regulated reporting of criminal cases
New Delhi, September 2 The Commission, in its report submitted to Law Minister H.R. Bhardwaj on August 31, recommended certain amendments in the Contempt Act, with focus more on the ill effects of “media trial” on the final outcome of a case and even suggested compulsory training for journalists on the covering of crimes and court proceedings with proper understanding of the finer points of the law. The regulation on reporting about a case was thought necessary by the Commission to ensure free and fair trial of an accused as guaranteed in the Constitution, as any prejudice caused would amount to interference with the judicial process. The Commission recommended that courts could be empowered to pass an order for the postponement of the publication of any news report about a case under trial, or permitting reporting “under stringent conditions”. In this context, the panel referred to the provisions in the Contempt of Court in the UK, the relevant laws in Scotland and Ireland and recommendations of the Law Commission of Australia. The laws passed by these countries “have declared that if a person is arrested or if criminal proceedings are imminent, prejudicial publications will be a criminal contempt”. The panel pointed out that even our Constitution, under Article 22(2), provides that any publication about a person’s character, previous conviction or confession after his arrest would not only prejudice his case but affect the bail proceedings and grant of police and judicial remand.
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No plans to withdraw support, says Ajit Singh
Lucknow, September 2 Temporarily setting at rest the speculation about the future of the SP-led coalition government, Mr Ajit Singh, however, kept his options open. He said that whether the coalition would continue till the coming Vidhan Sabha elections or not would be decided only after consultation with his party colleagues. Speaking to mediapersons at the portico of the Raj Bhawan immediately after his meeting with the Governor, Mr Ajit Singh chided the press for reading too much into a “routine courtesy call” in which he discussed “some issues” with the Governor. Refusing to comment on any parleys to join the UPA government at the Centre, he said that he had very good relations with senior Congress leaders like Mr Oscar Fernandes and Mr Ahmed Patel but has had no meeting with Congress President Sonia Gandhi in the recent days. Disclosing the reason for his party choosing to stay away from the celebrations to mark the completion of three years of the SP-led coalition government, Mr Ajit Singh said that the main function was at the SP party office and was therefore not a “government function” He categorically stated that he would have surely come if “invited to a government function”. He also criticised senior bureaucrats for attending the function at the Samajwadi party office.
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India to send 125 lady cops to Liberia
New Delhi, September 2 India is one of the top ten police contributing countries and currently contributes almost 400 police officers to UN missions worldwide.
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Pratyush Sinha is new CVC
New Delhi, September 2 The decision to appoint Mr Sinha as CVC was taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Leader of Opposition L. K. Advani also attended the meeting. The CVC has a four-year fixed tenure.
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Rs 350 cr for flood-hit Rajasthan
New Delhi, September 2
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